Gluten-free food should be scrapped

14th February 2013

The Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin has called for prescriptions of gluten-free food to be scrapped, claiming they are costly and outdated.

The journal says that because such food is readily available it should not be a medical issue. However, the charity Coeliac UK maintains that prescriptions are essential due to the high cost of gluten-free staple foods, which are up to four times more expensive than gluten equivalents. Figures suggest that 600,000 people in the UK have coeliac disease, caused by intolerance to gluten found in wheat.